1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a facsimile communication device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A facsimile communication device which is used as a sort of communication device is in wider use of transferring image data, compared with a communication device like a telephone used only for transmitting sound. In recent years, this type of facsimile communication device has widely employed a function named "sequential data concurrent transmission". The sequential data concurrent transmission is the function that, by depressing, for example, a sequential data concurrent transmission button, a facsimile communication device storing a plurality of facsimile numbers of other facsimile communication devices reads an original document set in the device and stores its data in an image memory to sequentially transfer contents of the image memory to the plurality of facsimile devices. Also widely employed has been a function named "transmission request", which is the function that a facsimile communication device designates one or more other facsimile communication devices and makes them read an original document set in the former and transmit image data through remote control.
A conventional facsimile communication device having such functions as stated above comprises operating means like a sequential data transmission button, a transmission request button and the like, separately; and hence, with such devices, there arises the problem that its structure is complicated and its operability degrades.
As a similar example of the art, a facsimile control system (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 160262/1982) is known, in which simply turning on a single switch for polling enables two functions, "permission of polling-transmission" and "commencement of polling-receiving", and the "permission of polling-transmission" is automatically released when the polling-transmission is normally completed, so as to prevent malfunctions caused by the next operation, while the condition of the "permission of polling-transmission" is retained when the polling-transmission is abnormally interrupted, so as to enable the recommencement of receiving by calling a receiving station, or a remote receiver, again. Also, a facsimile device capable of switching between a polling-standby mode and a polling-receiving mode (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 148464/1984) is known.
As a related prior application by the applicant of the present invention, there are some facsimile communication devices: An embodiment of the devices has an automatic receiving function capable of satisfying both of a demand for telephonic communication and a demand for facsimile communication from a transmitter (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 90657/1989 and 90661/1989). Another embodiment has an automatic receiving function capable of satisfying both of a demand for telephonic communication and a demand for facsimile communication from a transmitter and capable of satisfying a demand for facsimile communication from a manual dialing facsimile communication device (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 90658/1989). Still another embodiment has an automatic receiving function capable of satisfying both of a demand for telephonic communication and a demand for facsimile communication from a transmitter and capable of informing the transmitting station that the device has satisfied the demand for telephonic communication (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 90659/1989). Yet another embodiment is capable of satisfying both of a demand for telephonic communication and a demand for facsimile communication from a transmitter, and is capable of informing the operators on both transmitting and receiving parties that the device of the receiving station is in use for satisfying the demand for telephonic communication (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 90660/1989).